Bulleen
At 45, Bulleen reads older than the national profile by 5 years, but it is also highly educated and internationally connected. University attainment is 51.3%, 21.2 percentage points above national, while 42.3% of residents were born overseas. Compared with Doncaster, Bulleen feels more detached-house oriented, with 79.6% separate houses and only 8.3% apartments. The $1,285,000 median house price reflects established wealth, but growth is slow because the suburb adds only about 28 people a year.
Population
11,219
Median Age
45.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,814/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
43
Median House
$1.3M
Apr-Jun 2024
Bulleen suits buyers prioritising land, family housing and long tenure over apartment convenience. The median house price is $1,285,000, sitting 11.4% below the Oct-Dec 2023 peak of $1,450,000, so recent buyers have had a slightly better entry point than late 2023. Separate houses make up 79.6% of dwellings, and 42.5% have 4 or more bedrooms, higher than the 8.3% apartment share. The trade-off is servicing pressure: mortgages absorb 30.6% of income, while 50.0% ownership outright reduces local churn.
For Buyers
Bulleen suits buyers prioritising land, family housing and long tenure over apartment convenience. The median house price is $1,285,000, sitting 11.4% below the Oct-Dec 2023 peak of $1,450,000, so recent buyers have had a slightly better entry point than late 2023. Separate houses make up 79.6% of dwellings, and 42.5% have 4 or more bedrooms, higher than the 8.3% apartment share. The trade-off is servicing pressure: mortgages absorb 30.6% of income, while 50.0% ownership outright reduces local churn.
For Investors
Bulleen is more a low-turnover ownership market than a pure rental play. Renters account for 20.6% of households, below the combined 79.5% owned outright or with a mortgage, so the tenant pool is narrower than in apartment-heavy suburbs. Median rent is $459 a week and rent growth has been 31.4%, but the 7.4% vacancy rate calls for conservative leasing assumptions. Development activity is meaningful, with 24 applications in 12 months, because subdivision interest is testing older detached stock.
Development Activity
Total DAs
66
Last 12 Months
43
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+290.9%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Bulleen iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Marcellin College
7-12 · 1131 students
St Clement of Rome School
Prep-6 · 456 students
Demographics
Bulleen has an older and more qualified profile than Australia overall. The median age is 45, 5 years above national, and 51.3% of adults hold a university qualification, 21.2 percentage points above national. Overseas-born residents make up 42.3%, 20.7 points above national, helping explain the strong Chinese, Italian and Greek ancestry counts of 2,259, 2,250 and 1,423. Mandarin, Greek, Italian and Canton are prominent because postwar European settlement and newer Asian migration overlap.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
79.6%
Houses
12.0%
Townhouse
8.3%
Apartment
Tenure
Housing is dominated by long-held family homes rather than high-density stock. The median house price has risen from $780,000 in 2013 to $1,285,000 in Apr-Jun 2024, a 64.7% gain and 3.6% compound annual growth over 14 years. That is below the recent $1,450,000 peak by 11.4%, showing some price reset. Outright ownership is 50.0%, higher than the 29.5% mortgage share and 20.6% rental share, because many residents have aged in place. Most homes are 3 bedrooms at 47.0% or 4 plus bedrooms at 42.5%.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General
Mortgage / mo
$2,400
Rent / wk
$459
HH Size
2.6
Personal Income / wk
$739
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
7.4%
Unoccupied
341
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
25.3%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
30.6% stressed
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
26.4%
Couples, no children
9,497
Total families
Economy & Employment
Bulleen's workforce leans professional, with Healthcare at 17.1%, Professional/Tech at 12.7%, Education at 10.3%, Retail at 9.0% and Construction at 8.3%. Occupations reinforce this, led by 1,584 professionals and 884 managers. Unemployment is 5.4%, while participation is 54.9% because 3,702 residents are not in the labour force, consistent with the older median age. Advantage ranks above average but not elite: IEO is decile 8, IER decile 7, IRSD decile 7 and IRSAD decile 8, pointing to high education with some ageing-income drag.
Unemployment
5.5%
Labour Force
6,401
Unemployed
353
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
63.0%
Part-time
31.6%
Participation
54.9%
Employed
4,984
Occupations
Top Industries
University
51.3%
Postgraduate
13.8%
Born Overseas
42.3%
Dwellings
4,249
Transport to Work
Daily life is car-led, with 87.4% driving to work compared with only 5.1% using public transport and 2.1% walking or cycling. Schooling is a local strength because the 2 schools both sit at high ICSEA levels: Marcellin College is Catholic secondary with ICSEA 1115 and 1,131 students, while St Clement of Rome School is Catholic primary with ICSEA 1109 and 456 students. Safety is mainly about property risk, with 479 offences and a 42.7 per 1,000 rate, including 324 property and deception offences. IRSAD decile 8 ranks above average for advantage.
Drive
87.4%
Public Transport
5.1%
Walk / Cycle
2.1%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
+0.24%/yr
(+28 people/yr)
EstablishedGrowth is very modest compared with faster outer and renewal suburbs. The trend is 0.24% a year, about 28 people, with the medium path moving from 11,748 in 2026 to 11,890 in 2031. Overseas migration is the primary driver, adding an average net 172 people a year, while internal migration averages -83, so local outflows partly offset arrivals. COVID caused a -2.2% dip but recovery reached 3.2%. The gentrification score is 10 and the stage is Not gentrifying, even though the wider shift is Mixed and rents have risen 31.4%.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Overseas Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+172
Net Internal / yr
-83
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
COVID recovered (-2% dip → full recovery)
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
479
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
42.7
Offence Categories
Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria / SA Police
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Bulleen compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bulleen a good suburb to live in?
Yes for buyers who want established family housing, high education levels and a quieter ownership base. The median age is 45, separate houses are 79.6% of dwellings, and IRSAD sits in decile 8, although car dependence is high at 87.4% of commuters.
What is the median house price in Bulleen?
The median house price is $1,285,000 for Apr-Jun 2024. That is 11.4% below the $1,450,000 peak recorded in Oct-Dec 2023, but still 64.7% higher than the $780,000 level recorded in 2013.
What schools are in Bulleen?
Bulleen has 2 local schools listed: Marcellin College, a Catholic secondary school with ICSEA 1115 and 1,131 enrolments, and St Clement of Rome School, a Catholic primary school with ICSEA 1109 and 456 enrolments.
Is Bulleen safe?
Bulleen recorded 479 offences, equal to 42.7 per 1,000 residents. The largest category is property and deception offences with 324 incidents, compared with 106 crimes against the person.
Is Bulleen good for property investment?
It can suit patient investors, but it is not a high-renter market. Renters make up 20.6% of households, median rent is $459 a week, vacancy is 7.4%, and 24 development applications in 12 months show some renewal pressure.
How is Bulleen's population changing?
Population growth is slow, at 0.24% a year or about 28 people. The medium forecast rises from 11,748 in 2026 to 11,890 in 2031, with overseas migration adding 172 people a year against -83 internal migration.
What languages are spoken in Bulleen?
Bulleen has a strong multilingual profile, with 42.3% of residents born overseas. Leading non-English language counts include Mandarin at 483, Greek at 478, Italian at 407, Canton at 308 and Arabic at 99.
Is there much development happening in Bulleen?
There is moderate activity, with 24 development applications lodged in the past 12 months. Recent examples include 2 lot subdivision proposals and tree removal permits, showing pressure to adapt older detached blocks.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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